


Yellow Carnations

by Owllover132



Category: Miraculous Ladybug
Genre: F/M, Gen, I have no idea what relationships will be happening, I just want some Felinette, and some butt kickin'
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2019-06-14
Updated: 2020-03-24
Packaged: 2020-05-12 02:19:56
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 10
Words: 13,587
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/19219600
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Owllover132/pseuds/Owllover132
Summary: After the ten-day reign of Chameleon in Francios Dupont College's graduating class, Marinette is stranded, alienated. Nothing she says will ever fix what damage had been done. Her phone full of horrible messages, the glares, and the false stories that ever so constantly fell out of Lila's mouth all piled up.A visit from a blonde haired boy helps give Marinette a new solution. She did not need to go to Lycee with these people...





	1. New Beginnings are on the Way

**Author's Note:**

> Thank you for reading! I must say, this work will have inspirations from many places. In chapter 1 and 2, Marinette straight up moving schools comes from the Old vs New AU (Miraculous-of Salt on Tumblr). Alma Lycee was my own design. I will try to keep up with the inspirations as they come and post them before and after the chapter they debut in.

Marinette tried, she really tried. Lila was here to stay, Lila was here to continue lying, Adrien… Adrien wanted her to stay quiet. It stumped the poor girl. Her perfect crush… was wanting her to do something completely against her morals. 

Suddenly, the rose-tinted glasses were cracking and she could see through them, she could see the real colors. Her friends weren’t her friends, her classmates were using her… Marinette was beginning to feel like her life was a lie. Where was the proverb “what comes around goes around”? Marinette did good for others, Marinette helped anyone she could, Marinette was willing to cheer anyone up! She’d give the shirt off her back for a person in need. Even if the person in need was Chloe. Sure, she’d grumble about it but Chloe would have that shirt by the end of the day. 

So… why was she here? Why was she awaiting the end of the school year eagerly, yet dreading telling her parents? Why wouldn’t she dare look at her phone? Why did she always need to cry but refuse to because she was afraid of an Akuma? It all boiled down to Lila Rossi and her school. Tikki tried to be encouraging, but the little god could only do so much. The ravenette only had one option in front of her, as her class was unredeemable. She’d have to change schools. 

She sighed, curled up on a bench at the park that was situated between the bakery and school. She glanced at her phone, just to see what time it was and she tried to ignore the multiple messages that plagued the area below the digital clock. Lunch break was still only five minutes in, but she didn’t want to go home anyway. She just wanted to stay in the shade, her back to the school, and cry. 

Tikki poked her head out and tried to reassuringly pat Marinette’s leg, but the ravenette couldn’t even feel it as she clenched her fists to reign in her emotions. 

Too late.

Big, fat, hot and heavy tears betrayed Marinette’s dead expression. Eventually, the jaw was grinding, Marinette was fighting sobbing. She shoved her head between her knees as she curled up even tighter on the bench. This was supposed to be a good year! It was! It was. It wasn’t anymore.

Marinette startled when she heard footsteps nearby. Praying it wasn’t someone from her class, she dared to open a monolid eye to peer at the person. At first, she thought it was Adrien and was going to tell him to stick a foot somewhere, when she realized how much more put together this blonde boy was. How much more stoic he was. How he had gunmetal blue eyes and not  ~~ vibrant ~~ cat green eyes. He stared at her, an expression she couldn’t read. Suddenly, he sat down on the bench, shuffled through his bag, and pulled out a book. He glanced at her before opening it. Marinette was confused. What was he doing?

Marinette blinked, the tears stopping as her emotions shifted into curiosity, a feeling she hadn’t felt outside of the suit for a few months. 

“You can talk if you want, without looking like an absolute madman,” the blonde boy drawled. Marinette blinked owlishly again. They sat in an awkward silence before Marinette figured out what she was going to do.

“My name is Marinette Dupain-Cheng.” She tiredly spoke. “There’s a girl who has been lying about everything, but no one knows except me and this guy. However, he’s told me to not say anything. I can’t do anything to expose her without her finding a way to make me the bad guy. I no longer have friends.” She croaked.

After the lunch break was up and Marinette had spilled everything, the blonde boy stood, hearing the bell of the school. 

“I assume that’s your school? I’ve heard about Lila Rossi. My name is Felix Vita, I go to Alma College. Marinette, I’d willingly put in a good word for you if you transferred to Alma Lycee in the fall so that you won’t have to go to Francis Dupont Lycee. I doubt anything will blow over, and your best bet is to leave everyone.” The blonde boy bluntly told her. Marinette found herself blinking, again, at the boy. He had a… way with words, she guessed. 

“Uh, thanks? I’ll look into them. Thank you, Felix. For listening to me,” Marinette nervously smiled.

Felix gave her a nod, something she assumed would be the closest thing she’d get to a smile back from this quiet boy. “I’ll hope to see you next semester,” were his parting words, as if her fate at Alma Lycee was set in stone.

Marinette quietly braved the loud class for the rest of the day, sneakily checking her phone every once in a while to read up on the Alma schools. What she could see was that it was prestigious, and top grades were expected of students. You were given a quarter semester to raise your grades if they fell below the benchmark. Upon seeing the price tag to the schools, she was happy to find that there were scholarships. Sure, her family was old money, but that didn't mean she was going to make them spend it. All in all… she wished she had found out about the school sooner. She decided she needed to tell her parents, and somehow convince them to let her at least try for a scholarship to the lycee. 

It wasn’t hard, all she needed to do was to come forward about everything that had happened. Tom was the first to feel defensive for his daughter.

“I say we pull her out now!” he had grumbled, reaching for his little girl.

Sabine was right on board, but a little more logical. “She’s almost done, she only has a week left.” She turned to her daughter, reaching for Marinette’s hand as well. “Marinette, just hold on for a little longer.”

Marinette couldn’t have been happier in a long time.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you for reading! I must say, this work will have inspirations from many places. In chapters 1 and 2, Marinette straight up moving schools comes from the Old vs New AU (Miraculous-of Salt on Tumblr). Alma Lycee was my own design. I will try to keep up with the inspirations as they come and post them before and after the chapter they debut in.


	2. Alma Lycee

Alma Campus was intimidating. High brick walls with pointed spires on the top made an excellent aesthetic, but also a point. The acres of land the school board had managed to gain to and keep were all surrounded, and once you crossed through the gates, you saw why it was walled. The grass was greener, trees were strategically placed across the campus, and there were three main buildings, with scattered smaller buildings that could be seen. The sidewalk in front of them split off into many directions, and if it weren’t for the guide, Marinette her and parents were sure they would’ve never found the principal’s office.

The ravenette clutched her portfolio close to her chest and watched her feet as she walked. She’d already seen the uniforms. She knew that there was going to be some rich bratty kid just like Chloe who was going to be mean-

Marinette almost tripped, but luckily had slammed into someone sturdy to catch her. Apologies were already crawling up her throat, but when she saw who she had crashed into, they died and only a squeak came out.

“I’m sure you need to watch your surroundings, not just your feet,” Felix cocked an eyebrow. 

Marinette lightly giggled. The two had found each other again, and upon learning that Marinette would be trying for a scholarship at Alma, Felix had taken it upon himself to get her number and to coach her in what she needed to do to truly impress the principal into giving her her scholarship. 

"Aw, but then what use would you be?" Marinette kidded. 

Felix rolled his eyes. "Good luck. I'm sure you'll impress Burns." He nodded to her before finding his way towards a group of kids. She recognized them from pictures Felix would send. She didn't have time to pair names to faces, as her parents and guide were waiting on her. 

  
  


Marinette stood in front of her mirror, fiddling with her skirt and pin. She'd gotten a red plaid skirt from the uniform shop, hoping to grow out of the soft pink. Over a white button-up, she had a grey sweater vest, on which a red pin with five black dots sat on her right side. Finally satisfied, Marinette stared at her black hair. It had certainly grown over the summer, and now it rested just below her bust when not pulled up into anything. She contemplated pigtails for a moment before shaking her head. Going to Alma was about change. Also, pigtails were immature now. She could do twin Dutch braids since she did like having something 'twin' in her hair. Grinning with her solution, she dragged her rolling chair towards the mirror. Tikki floated over. 

"Are you excited, Marinette?" Tiki asked, flying over to Marinette's head to hold the untied hair together.

"Of course, Tikki!" Marinette giggled, a sound the little god was happy to hear again. "A fresh start, a friend, a new phone! What could go wrong?" Marinette mused. Speaking of which, she looked over at the new phone. Only one thing not directly tied to her family had been saved from her ancient one: Felix's contact. She felt sorry for whatever poor soul currently had her old number, surely they are either confused or have called the police by now. 

Peering at the time, she nodded to herself. She was actually ahead of schedule. She'd already eaten, her bags were packed, quadruple checked by her and Tikki and her parents. The metro didn't arrive until 7:45 and didn't leave until 7:50, and then it was a ten-minute ride to the station, and then it was a couple of minutes walk to school, which didn't start until 8:30. Currently, it was 7:20, and hanging out with multi-talented Felix had taught her how to do things with her hair and how to do them quickly. It only took a total of five minutes for the Dutch braids to be finished. Standing before her mirror, Marinette frowned. Something was still missing. 

Tikki flew up with a happy grin on her face. "How about tying ribbons around the bands, like you used to with the pigtails?" 

Marinette gasped. Of course! "Thanks, Tikki!" She shot the kwami a beaming smile as she hunted down her stock of hair ribbons. Finding them, she pulled a pair of 5-inch ribbons out and carefully wrapped them around each band, the end product creating the illusion she had tied each braid off originally with the ribbons. 

"Marinette, it's 7:38, time to go!" Tikki's voice interrupted Marinette's self-assessment. Nodding, Marinette slung her carry-on bags over a shoulder and the purse on the other. She stuffed her phone in the purse and made her way to the trapdoor. Slipping the standard black uniform shoes on, she descended the stairs. Her maman was awaiting her with a pre-packed suitcase and a duffel bag. The two descending into the bakery where they greeted Tom. Marinette slipped some cookies, which earned a teasing scolding from both parents. They let her take them. Waving goodbye, Marinette was off in the opposite direction of Francis Dupont. 

The dormitories were something new for Marinette. She’d never had to room with anyone, and she was used to being in her own room, removed from anyone. But now… She was sharing with two other girls. Sabine followed her daughter through the Lycee’s dorms before they found the taped on colorful name tags that stated Marinette would be rooming with Allegra Harper and Bridgette Yang. Beside the door were their names in brass, making Marinette assume the colorful name tags were only there for the beginning of the school year so students could easily orient themselves. 

Marinette and Sabine pushed the door open, and they found that they were the last ones here, as a blonde girl who looked too close to Chloe for Marinette’s liking and an Asian girl with hip-length raven hair were chatting on the couch that faced the door. Their eyes immediately snapped to Marinette, but instead of a malicious expression, they were happy.

“Oh! You must be Marinette!” The Asian girl expressed, standing and quickly walking over. “I’m Bridgette! We were wondering who you might be, but you must be the scholarship student Felix has been talking to.”

The blonde girl, by process of elimination, Marinette assumed was Allegra. Allegra chuckled. “I’m Allegra. We were waiting on you before deciding beds. Since we’re the odd room, there’s gonna be one of us alone."

Oh! Marinette grinned. "If you don't mind, I'm gonna quickly look through them!" 

The two girls nodded, and Sabine quickly struck up a conversation with them. Marinette began checking out the rooms. Both rooms had you opening the door straight to a wall, and you could look directly at each bed, as the wall was bent to become the bunk bed without taking up any space. On the far wall were windows on each side. There was a desk and counter space, and on the walls of the short hallway were hidden closet doors. Marinette looked inside and gaped. She could fit her entire loft inside of this! There were plenty of rows of closet rods, and the back wall of the closet was like an armoire, with shelves and drawers.

Marinette looked out of the windows, and she decided which room she’d take. Her dorm room was situated on the corner of the lycee, so while the room faced the courtyard of each school, the other window faced out into the open fields. 

Marinette came back to the living room of the apartment dorm, grinning as she found her maman at ease with the other girls. Bridgette was the first to notice her.

“Ah! Marinette! Did you find everything good?” She asked.

“Yep!” Marinette nodded, finding herself a seat.

“Alright!” Allegra giggled. “Which one tickled your fancy?”

Marinette joined in on the giggling, finding the expression funny. “I’d rather have the one down the hall.”

The two girls gave her confused glances. “But that one only shows the fields?” Bridgette asked.

“Exactly! The less likely I will be seen from below as I stare into nothing, the better,” Marinette winked.

Allegra and Bridgette took the bait and laughed. “Alright, do you want one of us with you, or would it be alright if we roomed together?” Allegra asked.

Marinette shook her head. “I think I’ll be fine by myself. Besides, you don’t want me somehow taking over your side of the room too.”

“You? Take over the other side of the room? Maybe you and Bridgette should room, watch a betting pool grow on who wins the turf wars,” Allegra stared at a corner, a thoughtful look on her face.

“Hey!” Bridgette wailed. “I’m not that bad!”

“Last year, my stuff was packed under my bed. By Bridgette. Because Bridgette needed more room. At least the lycee rooms make it impossible to stuff things under the bed…” Allegra gave Bridgette a side eye. The Asian only rolled her eyes with a playful huff.

Sabine turned to her daughter. “I think you’re in good hands now.” She kissed the top of Marinette’s head. “Have a good year, Marinette.”

Marinette nodded before giving a last hug to Sabine. The two parted, not to be seen by each other until winter break.


	3. The Quantic Kids

Allegra and Bridgette allowed Marinette to get settled in before the two told her they had a surprise and dragged her out of the dorm and to the courtyard after orientation. The girls had disappeared, and suddenly they were in different clothes. Marinette regretted not changing, she was now stuck in her uniform until she was allowed back to the dorm. 

Bridgette had her phone out, tapping away. She jogged ahead only to abruptly stop to take a selfie, where she fell back in to step to continue texting. 

“Alright! The boys said they’ll meet us down at the cafe!” Bridgette spoke, spooking Marinette. 

“The cafe? There’s a cafe here?” Marinette asked. What next? There’d be a mini city over the hill?

“No! Oh, no. Cafe Soleil is our regular spot, so we just call it the cafe,” Allegra laughed.

“They groan when they see us because they can’t handle our collective awesomeness!” Bridgette crowed.

“More like your overall stupidity,” a familiar voice grumbled as they approached the gate.

Marinette whirled around while Bridgette whined. Marinette finally saw him once her gaze returned to the gate. Felix was standing in the shadows of the wall, hands stuffed in his pockets and a blank expression on his face. The ghost of a grin twitched at his lips.

“It’s good to see you again, Marinette. I hope you haven’t suffered in their presence too much.”

Allegra gasped. “Excusez-moi? Marinette has not suffered! We’ve taken good care of her! And it’s not like you could do better. You’d hide in a corner, leaving the poor girl to fend for herself.”

Felix scoffed. “Marinette can take care of herself.”

Bridgette suspiciously looked at Felix and then Marinette. “How?”

Marinette was confused, but apparently, Felix was used to one worded questions. “I was the one to suggest transferring here to her. We stayed in contact over the summer.” Felix nonchalantly replied, turning to lead them out of the grounds.

Bridgette looked at Marinette like she was a god. Marinette didn’t understand. Felix was nice… in his own way. Why did she look like Marinette had done some miracle?

“Felix deletes everyone’s contacts. The only way we can actually talk with him is through apps because then he can’t delete us,” Allegra stage-whispered.

“I don’t do texting,” Felix sighed as if he’s had this conversation before. Marinette nodded. They had only talked over calls, and the rare moments of Felix using Snapchat. 

Bridgette still looked at Marinette in a new light.

 

They arrived at Cafe Soleil without much of a hitch, the atmosphere filled with idle chatter as the senior friends brought the newbie to a party booth. A barista came by, glanced over them before her mocha eyes fell on Marinette. She strode over and tutted.

“Kidnapping another new kid?” She sighed.

“It’s not kidnapping if she came willingly,” Bridgette pointed out with a wink.

“Does she even know anyone else?” The barista asked. 

“Yeah! She knows Felix!” Bridgette grinned.

“Felix is apart of your tiny cult,” the barista giggled.

“Felix is not apart of any cult,” Felix mumbled, earning a quiet snort from Marinette.

“So, what’s your name?” the barista asked.

“My name’s Marinette Dupain-Cheng. I recently transferred to Alma Lycee,” Marinette grinned. “And you?”

“I’m Sofia Crovetto. I was in my last year of lycee when these menaces appeared in college.” Sofia earned a glare from the two girls. Unfazed, she continued, “I decided I didn’t know where I wanted to go yet, so I decided to stay close by because you know someone gotta watch these kids while their parents are away. Cafe Soleil was hiring, so here I am!” She briefly folded her hands and held them under her chin.

“Well, it looks cute!” Marinette grinned, doing a once over the cafe. “I’m sure you must be happy here.”

“Yep!” Sofia giggled. She probably would’ve stayed longer if a co-worker hadn’t called for her to come back.

“Sofia is lots of fun, an adult who isn’t really an adult figure to us,” Allegra explained. “She loves to sit with us and remember the good ole days. If we’re on break and she’s off, we’ll all go to the zoo.”

“She loves to poke at Allan and Claude,” Felix grunted from beside her.

“I’d say she’d poke at you too,” Marinette teased.

“Oh yes!” Bridgette grinned. “She gave us our nicknames! Felix is Sparrow, Allegra is Melodie, Claude is Kid Mime, and Allan is Mercury! She would’ve called me Ladybug, but then Ladybug showed up so, I got Coccinelle instead.”

Marinette cocked her head to the side, trying to figure out how those nicknames came to be. Bridgette’s excited and sparkling eyes led to Allegra and Felix collectively groan as she launched into an account of how each of them earned their names. Marinette happily took each story in. By the time Bridgette finished her nickname, two boys were coming up to the booth. One had olive skin and blue eyes, with almost black brown hair. He wore jeans and a blue and white V-neck t-shirt with a black shirt underneath. He was the more excited one, as he literally bodyslammed Allegra to slip into the booth. The other was of African descent, with skin the color of a western coneflower and bottle green eyes. He wore a green hat with a white and green hoodie and brown jeans. Hidden in the rise of his hoodie were headphones similar to Nino’s, orange black but no special designs. He politely sat beside Marinette.

“Ah! You must newbie!” The excitable one all but shouted. “I’m Claude Martin!”

Marinette kindly grinned. “I’m Marinette Dupain-Cheng. It’s a pleasure to meet you!”

“There’s no need to be kind,” Felix looked up from his phone to rest a hand on Marinette’s shoulder. “He can take the truth just fine.”

Allegra snorted as Bridgette “Oh’d!” and Allan chuckled to himself. 

“I’m Allan Cellario, I’m sure I’m more of a pleasure to meet than loud-mouth,” Allan held out his hand and Marinette happily shook it.

“So tell me,” Marinette slyly looked at Claude, “how you manage to be so loud and have earned the name Kid Mime?”

Claude looked dumbfounded before holding a finger out. “Now listen, young lady, because I’m loud doesn’t mean I can’t act.” He draped himself across Allegra, a defeated expression on his face. “Listen to this, Melodie! Little kit here can’t see that I am one! One with the arts!”

Allegra pushed him off with a “Pssh, sure, whatever, bro.”

“Little kit?” Felix asked, annunciating each syllable.

“Yeah! The sparrow brought in something, why not a pretty kitty?” Claude smiled.

Marinette flushed at being called a pretty kitty and kitty in general and was promptly left unable to speak.

“Damn it, Claude, you broke her,” Allan sighed. “This has got to be a record. Not even been around a girl for more than a minute and you broke her.”

Marinette shook her head. “N-No, it’s fine!” She nervously smiled.

“Good, because I’d hate for you to be ruined by Claude,” Bridgette grinned.

 

Marinette left the cafe feeling rejuvenated. These five friends were a refreshing change from Adrien, Nino, and Alya. They bantered together as if they were family, yet they still managed to keep Marinette in the loop instead of going on without her. They shared inside jokes with her. They teased Felix in ways that made him smile in his own way that Marinette had never seen in her short time of being in contact with him. 

She looked forward to her first day of classes.


	4. The Quantic Blog

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Inspiration for the blog came from the LadybugOut AU by MiraculousContent on Tumblr!
> 
> I did try my best to make it different, by changing the reasoning behind, taking all kwami help except for Tikki out of it, trying to change the purpose behind some of the buttons... I thought that making the blog would be a good way to keep Ladybug interactive with Paris, as she was now pretty far away from the heart of the city, where most Akuma attacks happened. I'm sorry if some people think I blatantly copied the blog, but I promise, I did not intend to do so.

Marinette had gone a month at Alma Lycee before realizing how very out of touch with Akumas she was. At Francis Dupont, the Akumas occurred nearby and she could escape school with reasonable excuses. At Alma, she had to get creative and be able to swallow her pride. While she was normally the first one on the scene, she was now the last one there. 

Her tardiness as Ladybug was making herself nervous. Once the weekend came, Marinette made sure to visit Master Fu. There had to be something she could do, ways to notify her if an Akuma was happening. 

 

“Ah, Marinette. I don’t expect you to be coming by,” Fu gave her an aged smile. 

“I’m sorry, but I really needed to figure something out with you,” Marinette apologized.

“Oh?” Wayzz asked, flying out from behind a screen as the two walked into the workroom. 

“I’ve had to move schools, you guys know that,” Marinette began once they had settled at the table, to which both Wayzz and Fu nodded. “However, I keep coming late to Akuma battles now that I’m so removed from them. Surely there’s got to be a way for me to get notified when an Akuma happens! I can’t be getting the delayed announcements from the news. People are thinking I’m lazy!” Marinette groaned, dropping her head on the table top.

“Hm…” Fu hummed. “I agree with you, but I don’t know how. Maybe something to do with your technology?” He asked.

Tikki popped open the purse, eyes wide. “Marinette! What if you made an app or website or something?”

Marinette turned her head to Tikki, eyes suddenly sparkling as ideas danced behind her irises. “Tikki, you’re a genius!”

Fu and Wayzz looked at each other and then to the Ladybug pair. 

“I could make a website! People could send in Akuma sightings, I could tell people that the reason I’m so behind is that I’m no longer in the heart of Paris. That’ll put themselves to ease and also make them more inclined to help! I could put more onto the website, but I’ll have to think it through later,” Marinette buzzed. 

“You’d be making a blog, basically!” Tikki grinned, to which Marinette faltered.

“A blog? But that’s Alya’s thing, I don’t want her to think I’m going against her,” Marinette frowned.

“Marinette, it’ll be fine!” Tikki assured her chosen. “We can think about this later.”

Marinette sighed before smiling. “Alright. I guess I have to learn some coding now, huh?”

 

It took a week and confusing Allegra and Bridgette as she asked them questions about what they’d think about Ladybug doing a blog. In the end, Marinette had formed a website called the Quantic Blog, approved by Fu. There were buttons at the top, each correlating to a Miraculous and something she associated with them. Hovering over them changed the backdrop of the website, corresponding to the color of the button and doing a short preview of what each button offered. 

A red button to list all the videos Marinette was going to make as Ladybug for updates. It turned the backdrop red, and it showed an opening video of Marinette as Ladybug.

A green button for any posts about calming techniques. It turned the backdrop into a green diamond pattern, with the first post about breathing exercises.

A yellow button for a list of videos about self-defense and getting out of any situation an Akuma might put a civilian in. It turned the backdrop into a soft, pastel yellow with black honeycomb lines. It previewed a Krav Maga beginners self-defense video, with Marinette's commentary on it in a post below it.

An orange button was right next to it, meant to teach civilians how to camouflage themselves and places to hide. Marinette hoped that this button would be taken to heart, mainly because she definitely knew what buildings had the most common collapses. She didn't want any civilians hiding in collapsing buildings, she didn't know if the miraculous cure could bring anyone back to life. The button turned the backdrop into a common orange with a fox's white tail tip as the only thing visible against it.

A black button with a purple butterfly over it was where anyone could send in a picture of an Akuma sighting and where they saw it. Tikki would sort through those and let Marinette know if there really was an Akuma. She’d make a quick post about where an Akuma was seen, and once the Akuma was captured and de-evilized, Tikki would edit the post to say that it was gone. Its preview made the background a royal purple, with the post about how to submit entries and what would happen should there be an actual Akuma.

A black button with a cat paw on it was for tracking her. Tikki and Fu got to working with each other and finally Ladybug was able to connect her yo-yo to the website so that people would know where she was, once she was transformed. She hoped to be able to do the same with Chat Noir, but she hadn’t been able to contact him yet, and neither had Master Fu. Its preview actually showed a map of Paris, with the dull Ladybug and Black Cat signals enlarged over it. They'd be minimized and light up once one of them was transformed.

Once the site had been officially published with Marinette making the first video to explain everything on it, she did not miss those suspicious glances Allegra and Bridgette sent her. Allegra finally asked the question Marinette knew was burning in their minds during lunch hour.

“So, how convenient it is for you to ask what we thought about Ladybug running a blog… and not too much later, lo and behold! Ladybug is running a blog.” Allegra grinned before sending a suspicious grin to Marinette. “What’s up?”

Marinette raised her eyebrows. “What ever do you mean?” She feigned ignorance.

“How are you in cahoots with Ladybug? I gotta know,” Bridgette stage-whispered, leaning across the picnic table. 

Marinette giggled. She could work with this. “I have a terrace, and both would often drop by to rest before running off again. I got to get into acquaintance with them. Ladybug recently reached out to me to ask if I’d make a blog. I said yes.” Marinette made jazz hands. “And that’s how we’re here. Sorry, I didn’t tell you guys. I didn’t know how or what to say.”

Allegra pouted before grinning. “Oh well, guess we’ll have to make you feature us!”

Bridgette acted like she was giving it some thought before giggling, Allegra soon following. Marinette chuckled to herself. Those two acted so similarly, it was almost as if they were the same person… She could only assume the two had gotten so close in their years together that they began to take on traits of each other. Though, they did have their own differences that showed once it came study time. Marinette giggled at the thought. 

The blog was a hit, but Marinette knew it wasn’t one with Alya. She’d checked the Ladyblog and Alya had made a whole big post about how this was messing with her and aimed at ruining her, albeit she had no idea why. Marinette wondered if she should even attempt to explain as Ladybug. She wondered if she had accidentally cut the last tie she had to her ex-best friend. 

That led to a whole new deep thought session. Did she like that she no longer had contact with Alya? She just stole Alya’s livelihood, after all. Marinette tried to ignore that thought - the Ladyblog was for analysis. The Quantic Blog was for keeping others up to date and protection and knowing where the heroes were. Marinette assured herself with that.

 

Upon learning the girl behind the blog was Marinette herself, Claude would call her Coding Goddess, to which Marinette would snort at, as it made her sound like she actually knew how to code. Allen suddenly started giving her tidbits of advice, as he came to Alma riding on the computer engineering boat. Marinette took them like they were water, and the blog was slowly becoming a little more functional and better looking.

 

Felix himself seemed impressed by the work, rather than that Marinette literally set up a blog for Ladybug. To which Marinette found refreshing, and also found out that she liked receiving praise from the stiff boy. She had to stop that train before it reached the station though, because she wouldn’t let herself go so far into admiration as she did with Adrien. So she took those praises as they were, trying her best to not to look too deep into them.


	5. The Healing

Classes reached winter break and Marinette was thriving. Her new friends were always there, always including her, an assurance she adored. It helped that since it was a boarding school, she didn’t have to worry about little favors she couldn’t say no to. Like, babysitting. The good news was that each of her friends were only children, with Allen having two cousins that were like brothers to him. Thank God.   
Chat Noir was… a hard person to talk to. It had taken a long night of not doing a patrol to convince him that her blog was alright. He agreed, eventually, but he refused to get his baton tracked. She respected that. After that, though, he was stiff. The only good thing, it seemed, to have come out of their relationship now was that Chat Noir was no longer flirting with her. That meant Akumas were defeated faster and Chat was away from her faster. It hurt, but Ladybug could only hope that that Chat would get over it.

Winter break was finally here, and Marinette promised to ask her parents if her new friends could come over. However, her first order of business was Master Fu.

Walking down the familiar road, Tikki was perched on her shoulder, hiding behind a curtain of Marinette’s hair. She found the massage parlor and let herself in. There seemed to be quiet talking inside the massage room, so Marinette hung back, not wanting to disrupt Master Fu if he had a client.   
She saw Wayzz poking his head through the wall after a few minutes. His eyes widened before he flew over to her.  
“What’re you doing here?” He asked calmly, curious.  
“I was just hoping to talk to Master Fu,” Marinette softly answered. “Was he talking to you or a client?”  
Wayzz hummed before answering. “A client. I’ll find a way to tell him you’re here, he needs to wrap up this session anyway.” Wayzz flew back through the wall. A few minutes later, while Marinette was going through a pamphlet, she heard an eerily familiar voice.  
“Marinette?”  
God, his voice saying her name used to make her melt, but now she was frozen like a deer in headlights. She looked at him through her hair. Adrien stood there, shock on his features. Features she used to gush over.  
“Hello,” she softly greeted him. Folding the pamphlet to give her something to do in the awkward silence, Marinette reeled in her emotions in a Felix-like manner.  
“What- what are you doing here?” He asked, a more accusatory way than Wayzz.  
Marinette tucked the pamphlet back into its slot and stood up. She quirked an eyebrow, an emotionless expression mirroring the master of poker faces, Felix, upon her face. “Obviously to get a massage, what else would I be doing a massage parlor? Have tea?”   
The words seemed to cut into Adrien as he gaped at her. Marinette wanted to not feel the satisfaction at the sight. Here was the boy that hurt her beyond repair, gaping at the result of her growing up. She didn’t wait for a reply, only pacing past him and walking inside the room and sliding the door shut.  
“My, what tense energy,” Fu mused. Marinette sighed and plopped on a chair.  
“After an entire semester of having better friends and being distant from them, you’d think I would’ve gotten over them. Seeing Adrien was like peeling the bandaid off because I thought the wound was healed but in reality, it wasn’t,” Marinette groaned and laid her head on the table.  
Fu hummed before speaking carefully. “Have you tried releasing your emotions? Talking to them? Maybe not even physically, just say how you feel and let those emotions go? Or have you been bottling them up?”  
Marinette blinked, raising her head just enough to look at Master Fu. She… hadn’t thought about that. Now that she reflected on it, Marinette realized exactly how still emotionally attached to her old friends she was. How upset she was with herself for cutting off a tie to Alya. She had wanted to come in to talk more about the Miraculouses, but this may be the better thing to do today.  
“I’ll go make some tea,” Master Fu told her before getting up and leaving her alone with Wayzz and Tikki.  
Marinette pulled herself up, sitting back in her chair and looking at the empty one opposite of her. She tried to imagine her classmates in that chair. Her mind conjured up Rose, and the little blonde was awkwardly sitting across from her. Leaning onto her elbows, Marinette began to think of everything she held against Rose. There wasn’t a lot, but there were a few things. As she began to talk, Wayzz and Tikki left with each other, giving the girl some peace to sort herself out.  
After Rose was Juleka. After Juleka was Nathaniel. After Nathaniel was Mylene. After Mylene was Ivan. After Ivan was Alix. After Alix was Kim. After Kim was Max. Then Sabrina.  
Chloe. Marinette could’ve gone off forever about Chloe, but found herself only talking a little bit. It confused her how okay she was with Chloe until she found herself realizing why. Chloe was bad, but Chloe had been getting better. She didn’t know if Chloe was still the same or had fully grown up. She did know, from her parents, that the girl came into the bakery every day and left tips when she left. Chloe wouldn’t step foot into the bakery unless she had to follow her father inside, so that was an interesting development Marinette was happy to hear about.  
After Chloe came Nino. Nino got a wild talking to, as Marinette cried through telling him about how he and Alya always left her behind, how Nino, her childhood friend, never seemed to have had time for her, how he seemed more into being Alya’s boyfriend than a friend. It came down to Nino having flimsy attachments to his friends. After Marinette wiped her tears away and Nino had faded, Marinette inhaled sharply. She was preparing herself for the next one when Master Fu came in.  
“Sorry, I didn’t want to interrupt you. I think that you’ll enjoy having tea right about now,” He apologized, offering the cup between his fingers like a peace offering.  
Marinette giggled and met him at the door, taking the cup. She relished how warm it was. “Thank you. Thank you so much, Master Fu,” Marinette sighed. “You’ve done a lot for us and… I don’t think I’d of become the person I am today if I hadn’t run into you.”  
Fu was surprised to hear the confession, but he smiled anyway. “Your welcome Marinette. But I thank you as well, for your confidence and your kindness. You’re a good person, Marinette. Having those earrings and Tikki are just a bonus.”

After her break from fake talking to her old classmates, Marinette was back at her seat, her cup refilled with hot tea. Adrien was surprisingly the first person to show up. Marinette stared at the chair for a minute, collecting her thoughts.  
With a deep inhale, Marinette began. “Adrien, I honestly had the biggest crush on you for the longest time. Now that I look back on it, it was pretty problematic. I don’t even know if it was truly a crush, but rather a fit of deep infatuation. I guess I didn’t know how to crush, you were, after all, my first.” Marinette fiddled with her fingers and the mug handle. “I feel… I feel like that affected what I’d do for you. I felt you needed to be happy, no matter what. I was always apologizing to you, I was sacrificing myself for you… I wonder if you are proud of me.” Marinette let out a dry laugh.   
“After all… I took the high road. Lila never got akumatized and everyone is still wrapped around her stupid little finger. What did it cost? My dignity. Crying during lunch breaks. Getting text after text from your classmates about how I need to apologize to Lila, how I’m not deserving of Lila, of how much of a monster I am. The high road is great.” Marinette croaked, pausing to shakily take a drink.   
“I understand why you think nonconfrontation is best. But, not all problems can be solved by letting them be. Lila is a prime example. Chloe is a prime example. She’s only been getting better because Ladybug had been holding the Bee Miraculous over her head if she didn’t shape up.” Marinette sighed, turning her eyes to her cup.  
“I’m sorry. I guess the two of us against Lila has turned into no one against Lila, huh? I mean,” she gave a bitter laugh, “you never were going to stand beside me. It was just words to keep me quiet. And staying quiet… Staying quiet meant that I couldn’t feel. Staying quiet meant that everything stayed locked up. Staying quiet meant that I was almost akumatized four times. Adrien, you will never hear this, but I hate you for this.” Marinette felt her nose begin to tingle and watched as her eyes watered, but she knew. She knew that deep down, under the whispers of love for the boy, she harbored resentment. “I hate you. God, I hate you!” She cried out to no one. “I can’t believe I loved you!” She sobbed, glaring at the empty chair, the apparition of Adrien gone by now, Marinette was just crying to herself now.   
Marinette let herself cry over her feelings. She had one more classmate… one more ex-friend. Alya.  
The redhead didn’t even wait for Marinette to be ready, her mind conjuring up the girl before Marinette could look up. Why was it so easy to think of Alya? She’s been your friend for almost three years, whispered her mind. All the more reason to feel hurt.  
“Alya.” Marinette breathed. Her mind went blank as she thought of everything that had happened since Chameleon. Ten days of Lila as an Akuma, ten days of Lila ruining Marinette’s relationships with everyone, ten days that Marinette couldn’t get back, ten days that no one ignored.  
“Alya, you were my best friend.” Marinette numbly began, not knowing where to begin. “Nothing could separate us. At least, I thought so. Lila came along and you completely forget about being a journalist of truth and immediately began yellow journalism. You took the words of one person, and never checked to see if they were right. You took the words of someone so religiously, that you couldn’t see the obvious holes. You chalked me pointing out things wrong with Lila as me being jealous. I wasn’t jealous. I liked Adrien, but I couldn’t stand the thought of anyone actually falling within her claws like that.   
“And Alya, in dismissing me as jealous, you forgot that I myself had done incredible things as well, and didn’t like being put on the spot for them. You… you actually dismissed me in general. Lila came and suddenly there was this new person who told everyone that she had done and seen incredible things. I was shoved to the back burner, like a project that would be touched upon when needed, but it would not be given the attention it deserved. And then, Lila claimed she had tinnitus, despite it never being in her records, despite Jagged Stone never owning a cat, despite the fact that Jagged Stone had had Fang as his only pet as long as Lila was alive. Suddenly, the class was rearranged and I was shoved to the back, my input ignored. My feelings; assumed. That hurt, Alya. Once Chameleon was defeated, I stayed back there. The class went back to how it was, but Nino was in my seat, Lila in his. I was forgotten in the back.   
“I was only remembered when Lila had something bad to say about me. I was remembered when you decided that anything I had “said” in the period Chameleon was an Akuma, anything someone said I had supposedly said, you decided that it was all true. You remembered my phone number. You made everyone remember my phone number. You all quietly bullied me, avoiding trouble while my phone got spammed with words horrible enough to make me wonder if I should give up. Disappear.  
“You all got your wish. I disappeared. Never to be seen at Francis Dupont again. Alya, if you wonder why I would up and go without saying goodbye, if you wonder why I would abandon her friends, if you still somehow, miraculously think I was your friend… all you have to do is look back on your behavior.   
“You didn’t have time for me, and this was before Lila came back. You decided that I was a good babysitter, always asking me to look after your younger sisters while you and Nino went on dates. You even got Nino to make me look after his brother. You knew I couldn’t say no. You took advantage of me. And when Lila came back? Even less time. Class-time was devoted to listening to Lila. After school time was devoted to Lila or dates. You only texted me, before Chameleon, to tell me when to babysit the siblings or to check the Ladyblog. I was suddenly only a follower and a babysitter in your eyes.   
“After Chameleon, Lila was your babysitter, so I thought you’d have time for me. But no. I was starting to get hateful texts, I was being glared at, I was being shoved away, tucked in the back like a bad memory.   
“Alya, I can’t wait for the day you see Lila for what she really is. I don’t expect you to come crawling back, but if you do, I won’t forgive you. These were the choices you made on your own. You had your chance when I was telling you it was wrong. I was dismissed. I was told to take the high road. And look at me now!” Marinette gave a bitter laugh.   
“I’m happy. Without you. My new friends don’t take advantage of me. My new friends don’t tell me to babysit for them. My new friends don’t chalk my feelings up to jealousy. Alya, I wondered how I felt about you, wondered what would I do for my ex-best friend. And suddenly, speaking what came to mind has made me come to the same conclusion as doing this with Adrien did. I thought of you as a friend. But I can’t help but hate you now. And It’s a weight off my chest to say so.” Marinette ended in a whisper.

It felt wrong to the girl to say she hated somebody. It felt wrong to feel this kind of malice towards somebody. But it felt right to admit it. Marinette sighed, flopping against the back of her chair. Alya looked disappointed, like Marinette’s mind was going to make her argue back, but Alya disappeared before her mouth could open.

Marinette looked around the room before startling as she saw Wayzz, Tikki, Trixx, and Pollen watching her. Trixx was peeking out from Marinette’s discarded bag, with something in front of them that was being hidden by Tikki and Pollen floating in front of it.   
“Alya… really did that?” Trixx asked, voice shaking at the thought of their wielder acting so.  
“I’m sorry… but yes.” Marinette looked away with a defeated sigh.  
“... I’m sorry one of my kits have been so misguided,” Trixx murmured.

The atmosphere of the room was heavy, as a black paw pressed a button for the second time.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> What happens in the chapter is honestly what I do with myself. I'll have fake conversations with people just to get my feelings off of my chest, and I honestly feel better afterward. That or riled up if I kept having a fake argument with them. So, I thought that this would be a cool way to start off Marinette actually realizing how she feels about her old classmates... and also begin a cool plot point in the future.  
> I plan as I type, so here's to hoping I actually remember this when I continue after camp(which is next week)


	6. The Loss

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I had no idea what I was doing  
> I was just typing  
> and it happened  
> Little angsty (or maybe a lot angsty)  
> Owl doesn't do dialogue  
> What is that word

A week passed since Marinette had her moment at Master Fu’s parlor. She had visited every day since, the kwami being the ones to request her to visit. The first few days were each of them demanding what their holders had done before allowing Master Fu to speak with her. 

Apparently, Chat Noir had been visiting the guardian. Fu had been trying to pass on information, something that the cat-themed hero had been dying to receive. However, the boy had been only complaining, seeing Fu as a person to rant to about this one classmate of his. Or rather, ex-classmate. About how wrong she was and how she needs to be brought back, how she’s hurt everybody. And then, it turned into complaining about Ladybug.

Oh, how angry Marinette had gotten from hearing about. How she was always quick to finish battles, how late she always was, how she never wanted to hang out, how she wanted to scan the city for akumas rather than talk to him. She was doing her job! She explained to him why she was almost always late to battles! And he thought he could complain about that? 

 

Marinette’s opinion on her partner shifted. She was doing a job that came with bare minimum instructions. The Miraculous wasn’t just gifted to them for no reason. They had been given them by showing acts of courage and kindness. They weren’t given them because they were destined to be together. They weren’t given them to play with them.

Yet… her partner, her kitty… he had managed to believe it was because he deserved it. He had become selfish in his duty. Oblivio seemed to bring it out, after Alya took a picture of the two kissing before their memories were restored. Chat Noir acted as if it were proof that they were destined. 

 

“Come on, My Lady, if only we took our masks off, we would be perfect! That’s how we ended up like that without our memories. We knew each other. We’re destined, you’ll have to accept it eventually.”

 

Marinette was certain that knowing who was under the mask wouldn’t affect her feelings as much. She knew Chat Noir as a playful guy, one who flirted too much. One who liked to believe too much in her, and he always stressed her out when he decided to sacrifice himself for her.

Sure, he’d let up on the flirting, but he still acted like it didn’t burden her mind when he would kill himself in an Akuma attack, as if it wouldn’t make a difference for her. All it did was double the trouble and double the panic.

 

She voiced her opinion to Master Fu, who took the complaint seriously. That day, when she left, he looked somber. As if he was pondering a serious decision. Marinette was scared Chat Noir was going to lose his Miraculous. She was scared of the backlash from Chat Noir. She was scared of being alone. 

 

“Master Fu, please, tell me Chat Noir isn’t going to lose his Miraculous!” Marinette had begged on her last visit that week.

“Marinette, the future isn’t certain. But,” Master Fu had sighed into his cup of tea, “he just might.”

 

Marinette felt terrified. She’d arrived on the scene early, as the Akuma had appeared nearby the school. Chat was late, so she had been working damage control until her partner could appear. He did little before he had sacrificed himself needlessly again. This time, all too readily. This Akuma was hard, horribly hard. Mirror could make you blind, make you look like her, could appear out of a reflective surface, or worse- make you disappear should you look into any reflection she controls.

Chat had already used Cataclysm. 

Needlessly. 

Ladybug had yet to use Lucky Charm.

Ladybug didn’t know when to use Lucky Charm.

Ladybug just wanted to cry.

 

After finally finding a dark alley that had no reflective spots, she had called a lucky charm. And afterward, she had found Chat right where he’d left her.

Facing Master Fu while the last guardian was using the Turtle Miraculous.

Tikki had forced the detransformation, exhausted beyond her limits, forcing Marinette into hiding.

“Chat Noir, do you realize what you’ve been doing?” Master Fu had asked the black-clad hero.

“What do you mean?” Chat Noir asked, confused while also trying to keep the atmosphere light. 

“Do you realize the pain you’ve been putting Ladybug through? The pressure?” The old man leaned against his shield, eyes burning into Chat Noir’s.

“What do you mean?” Chat Noir asked again, only this time, it was accompanied with a scoff. “What pain? She doesn’t know about pain! Or pressure! She doesn’t die every Akuma attack. I do! She doesn’t understand the pressure. She doesn’t understand destiny. She doesn’t understand being here for me. Late! Every time.” Chat Noir scoffed before giving Master Fu a smirk that said he had the checkmate. “Tell me something I don’t know.”

Master Fu cocked an eyebrow while Marinette felt ready to burst into tears behind the car she was hiding behind. 

“Do you realize that you dying every time makes it harder for her? That it presses on her, that if she doesn’t succeed, everyone dies. Your death is on her hands. Chat Noir, you also seem to have been deluded into thinking that the Miraculous’ Chosen are destined to their opposite. That is not true. Previous Ladybugs and Black Cats only got together because of a good dynamic. I see I made a mistake in this dynamic. 

“Then, there’s the complaining you do. She knows. She knows that you think her wanting to do her job is horrible. She knows that you complain about her being late every time despite her telling you why and how it is out of her control.” Master Fu inhaled, making it seem he was done with his speech. He had slowly walked closer to the Black Cat wielder, now standing right before him. In a speed that a man of Master Fu’s age shouldn’t have, the ring was off of Chat Noir’s finger, Plagg forced to be brought out and Chat forced to reveal himself in the empty street.

Marinette had to hide her gasp, her ears going deaf to the argument that ensued. Adrien Agreste. The teenager that had been nice, that had been naive, that had become bitter… was her kitty. He’d flirted with her, he’d argued with her, he’d died for her, he’d pretended she didn’t exist had backstabbed her by talking atrocities to the Guardian about her. 

 

Master Fu was long gone with Plagg and the ring before Adrien noticed the shell shocked Marinette behind the car. She was yelled at to never speak of this, she was yelled at for many other things that he just found now was the perfect time to speak of.

Marinette, after much more crying later, found herself glad that Adrien was no longer her partner. He’d displayed that day what he could’ve turned into. He’d displayed his bad qualities that she would’ve been roped into if she had stayed with her class, if she had continued pursuing the teen.

 

Marinette was glad, but that didn’t mean she wasn’t heartbroken. Her best friend for years was gone, and she was now alone. She didn’t know if the Black Cat Miraculous would ever resurface. She didn’t know if she could trust another partner. She could just hope that she’d do well, working solo. 

 

Winter break wasn’t even over yet.


	7. The Visit

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Marinette finally gets to have her friends over and peace of mind.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I did not read through this to make sure it looked good so I pray to God it's alright

Marinette and her friends were finally able to get together over winter break. Their parents had agreed on allowing them to stay together for three days and the Dupain-Chengs had opened their home.  
Marinette was buzzing on the day of their arrival. Half of her room was down in the kitchen and living room to accommodate for the guys. She was constantly going up and down the stairs. Poor Tikki had given up and stuck to laying on a pillow, watching her Chosen with an amused expression.

“Marinette, you do know that you’ll have to bring everything back up, right?” She asked.  
“Yeah, but that’s after they’re gone,” Marinette brushed off the question while hunting for pillows, which she could’ve found in the closet on the floor just above the bakery.   
“They’ll be here for three days. You don’t need to move your room downstairs before then,” Tikki giggled.   
“Yeah, but have you ever experienced that awkwardness of waiting on someone to bring something back?” Marinette asked, finally finding a pillow that was stuffed under her chaise.   
“Yep! When you forget to bring me cookies,” Tikki teased.  
Marinette yelped, realization dawning on her. “Sorry, Tikki!” She was gone in a flash, leaving the pillow and Tikki to sheepishly grin to herself.  
“I didn’t mean for you to go right now…”

Marinette was a screeching mess, right in tune with Allegra and Bridgette, when she saw her friends. The three girls were bouncing around in a tight group hug, forcing the guys to go inside in fear people would mistakenly think they knew the girls. After a good minute of “I missed you!”s and rounds of happy screaming, they joined the boys in the living room.

Claude was already making himself at home on the couch while Allan was seated on one of the kitchen barstools. Sabine was happily chatting with the teen. Allegra quickly went over to her to re-introduce herself while Bridgette dove at Claude. Marinette stood in the doorway, grinning at the chaos. She paused, suddenly wondering where Felix and her papa were.  
“Maman, where’s Felix and Papa?” Marinette asked, her eyes shifting. Nope, they weren’t hiding behind the door and looking at the bookshelf.  
“Oh, Tom took Felix down to the bakery,” Sabine whimsically replied. Sabine gave her daughter the eyes. The look. The one that mother and daughter understand. “Why, concerned about your boyfriend?”  
Marinette blinked. Once. Twice. Her friends paused. They turned to her with shit-eating grins. “MAMAN!” She screeched. Felix was just a friend. Just a friend. She convinced herself of that. How dare her mother tease her of this when she could’ve picked one of the two other perfectly male teenagers in the room? “Felix is just a friend!” She whined.   
Allegra hid her snort well, turning it into a sneeze. Marinette stared at her in betrayal. Turning her back on the girl, she made her way to the nest of blankets. She made eye contact with her mother, who only gave her the same teasing grin as the rest of her friends.  
“I live here now,” she mumbled as she hid in the blankets. “You’re all traitors.”  
That ended up with the very familiar sound of her friends chortling at her. Ha ha, very funny. See what happens when I tell Claude that you like him, Marinette mused to herself while glaring at Bridgette from a hole in the wall of blankets.

Felix and her father eventually came up, one with a happy grin and the other trying to hide his amusement. Guess which. Just guess.   
“Where’s Marinette?” Felix asked, to which Marinette pouted. He needed to shut up. Her parents were going to jump the gun with this, no doubt.   
“Ah, we mortified the poor girl and she’s hiding,” Claude offhandedly answered. Marinette bet that he was looking at her pile of blankets. Traitor.  
“Huh. I’m surprised that everything's still in place,” the blonde airily stated. Footsteps came towards the blanket pile, but they at the sound of someone sinking into the couch. Felix just sat down next to her blanket pile. Rude. “Considering you like to cause chaos.” Felix continued his thought.  
“Don’t spread rumors about me!” Claude exclaimed, sounding thoroughly offended. “Don’t listen to him, he likes to make me seem uncivilized. His appearance is deceiving, the man is instead a tower of birds, just waiting to make their own mess.” Claude stage whispered the warning to her parents. A soft whack entered the air, probably Felix hitting Claude with something.   
“Don’t worry, Sabine, They’re always like this,” Allegra snickered. “All men at Alma are uncivilized, apparently.” A scoff of disbelief. “Save Allan,” Allegra quickly fixed.   
“Oh please, you girls wouldn’t dare do half the things we do,” Claude joked.   
“It’s because they have more than one brain cell, Claude,” Felix huffed. “Why is there just a pile of blankets?”  
Marinette’s muscles seized. Will this be her most embarrassing moment to date? Even more embarrassing than all the times she tried asking Adrien out? The ice rink? Oh, God, sweet Tikki, please spare her.   
“Marinette took apart the house to make sure everything would be comfortable up here,” her maman began. “Apparently she decided looking clean wasn’t an option.”  
Bridgette snorted. “Sabine, this is clean.”  
“Yes, because Bridgette knows what clean looks like,” Allegra’s voice was dripping with sarcasm.   
“Pft,” Bridgette scoffed. “I’m doing better. You should see our room. My side is far cleaner than hers.”  
“Yeah, when Ladybug drops in to say hi, I’ll believe you,” Allegra scoffed. There was a squeaking of a barstool. “So, how long until Marinette shows herself?”  
Marinette groaned, poking her head out of the blankets. “I’m going to kill you, Allegra,” she pouted. Felix was not expecting that. Her ringing ear was a testament to that.

\-----------

Spending time with her friends was definitely what she needed, the cure to her ailments, the easing of her mind. She happily climbed to her balcony, for once just to watch the snow fall and not to ask the stars why. 

“Huh. It’s really pretty up here.”  
Marinette jumped before sheepishly grinning at Felix. “Oh yeah. It is.”  
“Do you mind?” Felix asked, gesturing to the spot beside her on the railing.   
“Oh no! Go ahead!” Marinette grinned and slid over to make more room. Felix came over and leaned against it. She watched him, his head tilted up and how the snow would catch in his hair, how the night seemed to make his eyes bright.  
Marinette turned to look down at the street, cutting off her thought process.

Felix tapped his fingers on the railing, watching the stars. He sighed and watched his breath rise. He glanced at Marinette from the corner of his eyes. She was looking down, a pensive expression on her face. Her hair was in lazy lace braids, evident on the many strands of hair not tied in. The snow had been catching in her hair for a while now, looking like a halo on her head.   
She was beautiful.

He shuffled his feet, considering his thoughts.  
No.  
It would be best to stay quiet. He’d absorb the moment. Them and the city noises. 

He’d consider his feelings later. The moment was too perfect to interrupt.


	8. The Cameras

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Marinette gets a suggestion... and finally starts to see the end of tyranny.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Will I always bring up cameras? Probably.  
> Put that beside "flower language titles" on How to Know It's A MLB Fic by Owl
> 
> I think this chapter might be a few hundred words shorter than normal, but it's plot-heavy.

Marinette huffed and blew her hair out of her eyes. School was back in session and she couldn’t find it in herself to focus. So instead, she had decided to work on coding the Quantic Blog to look nicer and update posts.

She saved her changes and went back to the main website, where she noticed a notification under the Akuma bar. Expecting either an actual Akuma or just a butterfly, Marinette wasn’t prepared to see a text post. A suggestion.

_“I apologize in advance for sending this through the Akuma Alert, I had no idea if there was a suggestion box. But I had an idea, a way to pin-point Hawkmoth in a way I wouldn’t be able to._

_Do you know how there’s like fifty million cameras around Paris? I don’t know if Akumas show on them, but what if you were able to track an Akuma back to where it came from? You’d definitely need to collaborate with the police... unless you want to go illegally or something. I dunno, it’s just a suggestion.”_

“Tikki!” Marinette gasped.

“Hm?” Tikki lazily floated over and read the post. “It’s worth a shot!”

Marinette pulled a sheet of paper. “I’m gonna see if I can find a way to narrow down the search. I’m not going through every camera on Paris, that’s 40 square miles of footage!”

Tikki grinned as she watched her Chosen get to work using the photos of akumas to find where the most were sighted. Marinette was brilliant, she just needed the nudge suggested to her.

Once the weekend came, Ladybug was running the rooftops to find someone who could help her. Her eyes fell on Officer Raincomprix, walking the streets.

“Hello, officer!” Ladybug dropped down, startling the man. “Oh! I’m sorry, I didn’t mean to scare you. I was wondering if you could help me with something.”

“Oh, it’s fine Ladybug. Of course, I’d help! What do you need?” Raincomprix asked, grinning.

“I need to see the CTV footage of this area,” Ladybug smiled. “It came to me that since Akumas can be seen on camera, that they should be seen on the cameras around Paris. I’ve narrowed down areas that we can look at, and this is the place where the most common Akuma sightings happen. I just don’t have the access to them.” She sheepishly tilted her head.

“I’ll see what I can do. Follow me.”

 

It wasn’t too long until Ladybug was sitting beside a watchman, reviewing past video footage of an Akuma. They started at the first appearance of Psycho Happy, an obvious Akuma who had started at the streets. They tracked the Akuma back, before it disappeared. Ladybug got the watchman to track all of the Francis Dupont Akumas - which were more frequent nowadays. They all disappeared in the same place.

“They all disappear around the Agreste Manor, but Gabriel Agreste has been akumatized…” Ladybug groaned.

“Well…” the watchman began. “What if Hawkmoth can akumatize himself? Think back to Hero’s Day. He certainly got akumatized by his own Akuma.”

Ladybug hummed. It couldn’t be Adrien, he was Chat Noir. It just… had to be Gabriel Agreste.

“Is there any cameras around back?” She asked.

“Not anymore,” the watchman shook his head. “Which now that we’ve reached this conclusion, it makes sense. He had paid the higher ups a good sum of money to take them down and stay quiet about them disappearing. Then he set up his own cameras that we can’t access and went on to buy a defense system... Between you and me,” the watchman looked back to the door and then to her, “I’m fairly certain he’s made some illegal purchases. I don’t have proof, though.”

Ladybug furrowed her brow. That was… nice to know. “Thank you,” she grinned.

 

Ladybug sat down on the rooftop she was standing on. How did she manage to miss this? A giant butterfly window? She had been right, and Chat Noir had dismissed it. Chat Noir was Hawkmoth’s son. How much did he actually know?

Ladybug growled. She had to get back to the Guardian.

 

“Master Fu!” Marinette called, panting from running all the way.

It took him a second, but he popped his head out the door. “Marinette, I’m with a client right now. If you’ll please wait.”

Marinette made a face and mouthed sorry before finding a seat. She sat for a bit, paced for a little while, sat again, paced… her mind was reeling. She’d definitely need a team. She couldn’t charge into battle as just herself, not to mention that he was an adult and an accomplice. _And_ a more-than-likely spiteful son. _And_ a sentimonster. That could get to four versus one real quick. And Marinette was not ready to face three people by herself.

Hawkmoth and Mayura had no time limits because they could stand the power and probably had gotten to understand how to use it well. Marinette had only recently been able to extend her time limit to seven minutes. Not good enough. She had to have a team. But who?

“Marinette, are you alright?” Fu asked, watching the girl pace with fervor. His client had left, and Marinette hadn’t noticed him leave or give her a concerned glance.

“Absolutely, I just need to make a battle plan,” Marinette grinned.

 

In the safety of the parlor room, Marinette explained how she found out who Hawkmoth was, and by extension, who Mayura was.

“-wait, that explains why Adrien had the book!” Marinette gasped.

“Yes, indeed it does,” Fu nodded. “And what are you going to do?”

“I- I need to make a team again,” Marinette sighed. “I can’t go in there by myself. That could really quickly become four on one, and I’m not strong enough to do that.”

“Mayura could put herself out, she has been using it for a year now, poisoning herself by using a broken Miraculous. But we can’t bank on that. Are you going to use all of them?” Fu asked, looking at the phonograph.

“Not all of them. I don’t want to go in with both the Ladybug and Black Cat, that would be giving him what he wants.” Marinette sighed. “I think I’m going to need the Fox, the Bee, the Turtle, the Horse, and the Snake.”

“And you’ll still go in with the Ladybug?” Fu asked.

Marinette pursed her lips, thinking. “I’ll go… with a fusion. It won’t look like I’ve got the Ladybug, not if I pick the right one.”

“And what will that be?”

“The Dragon.”


	9. The New Ones

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Marinette becomes friends with Chloe because the girl needs redemption in here. Miraculous are handed out. Training begins.  
> Did I say that chapter 10 would be the climax? It may or may not be, it depends on where my plot roams

Marinette thumbed her choker as she thought over who she would be giving the Miraculous to while waiting for the other person in her meetup.

Allegra showed great promise as a Fox. The fact that she already plays a flute was just a bonus. She didn’t need to get up close in a fight, and in fact, she probably wouldn’t. Marinette bet her money that Allegra would be best at setting a trap without ever getting involved.  
The Turtle was hard, but Marinette heavily considered Allan for it. Sure, he was a track star, but he was strong and defensive. She needed a fast shield in what she was about to drag them into.   
She knew who she wanted for the Snake. He’d already proven himself time and time again. Luka was perfect for the snake, and she knows he’d reverse for a better alternative.  
The Horse was an interesting idea, but the girl was certain it’d be crucial in some way. Claude was a loudmouth and annoying, but he was also what she needed: someone who knew where things are. Claude’s skills in geography and the landscape of France was impeccable. If they needed to get out of range, somewhere that could trap the adults, she knew Claude would have an idea.  
The Bee…

“Marinette!”  
Said girl snapped her head up and grinned, noticing the blonde coming.  
“Hey,” she grinned. “Chloe.”

Marinette wasn’t blind to what the girl had been doing. She wasn’t blind to the nervous shuffle the girl was trying to hide. Chloe was on the mend. The blonde was proving herself to be a hero, whether she had the Bee or not. Marinette wanted to test Chloe, see how she acted now, to see if she was still Bee material.   
“You are honestly the last person I’d expect to call me for a shopping trip,” Chloe nervously laughed.  
“Well,” Marinette shrugged. “Who else would I be able to shop with that doesn’t have questionable style?” She glanced at Chloe with a grin, taking in the shocked expression of the blonde.   
Chloe seemed to shake herself out of her stupor and smirk. “Oh, of course. Don’t get me started on the fashion horror you managed to escape.”

The two girls went through the mall, having fun that they would have previously never seen themselves having in each other’s company. Chloe seemed to have gotten a sharper perception of good fashion, and the two happily criticized clothes together. Marinette had fun making outfits from all sorts of stores, Chloe was happy to be out with someone. 

“Marinette?” Chloe called, a green dress hoodie draped over her arm. She wasn’t paying attention to it, however, but rather the ravenette.   
“Hm?” Marinette turned, her eyes immediately falling on the dress on Chloe’s arm. “Do they have that in a blue-grey? It would look best in that color on you.”  
“Marinette,” Chloe inhaled, a confused expression on her face. “This is all fun and all… but why me? I know what you said earlier was a pat answer. What’s really your reason?”  
Marinette blinked owlishly before worrying her cheek. She stepped closer to the girl and placed a hand on Chloe’s shoulder. “Chloe… I called you to do this because I want to be your friend. I know we’ve had a bad past. But I know you also have grown up since then. You’re not a schoolyard bully anymore. You’re just a girl. I don’t know what’s happened since I left, but I want to be friends with this Chloe. Strong, confident, kind Chloe,” Marinette grinned and added jokingly, “Not the Chloe who put gum in my hair.”  
“Oh my God,” Chloe gasped. “Why did you bring that up?” She groaned.  
Marinette giggled, and soon Chloe was too.  
“I’m sorry about all of that,” Chloe sighed, a smile sinking into a soft grin on her face as she pulled the dress off her arm and hunted for its hanger.  
“I forgive you,” Marinette grinned, plucking the lost hanger from where it was resting on top of the rack.  
“You shouldn’t,” Chloe lamented, taking the hanger. “I don’t think I can ever make it up to you,” she sighed, slipping the dress onto the hanger and finding the spot it was in before.  
“Be my friend,” Marinette stated. “And don’t worry about the past.”

\-----

Ladybug was seated on an archway, thumbing the Miraculi in her hands. She had to give them out. She had to train the three of her friends. But that was what worried her the most. She was dragging her friends into her war with Hawkmoth. Would they all be able to finish it? 

She felt off without the Cat. But perhaps that was what was needed. Plagg probably needed the time to rest. She knew Tikki couldn’t wait. Her kwami hid it well, but Tikki longed for her Miracle Box to be complete again. Ladybug wanted to make that happen soon. 

Her mind steeled. For Tikki. For poor Nooroo and Dusuu. The other kwami.

Ladybug stood and swung out, finding her holders.

\------

“Chloe Bourgeois, this is the Miraculous of the Bee. You will use it for the greater good. You will hold onto it until your mission is complete. Do you accept?” Ladybug asked, facing an awestruck and excited Chloe.  
“O- Of course!” the blonde breathed. She gingerly took the box from Ladybug’s hand, opening it like it would break if she pressed any harder.  
“My Queen!” Pollen squealed.  
“Pollen!” Chloe gasped, happily reuniting with her kwami. She took the hair comb and this time, stuck it at the base of her ponytail.   
“Will you meet me at the top of the Eiffel Tower tomorrow night?” Ladybug asked.  
“My schedule permitting, I will,” Chloe declared.  
“Good,” Ladybug smiled. “It’s good to see you happy, Chloe. Welcome back.”  
“It’s good to be back,” Chloe grinned.

\------

“Luka Couffaine, this is the Miraculous of the Snake. You will use it for the greater good. You will hold onto it until your mission is complete. Do you accept?”  
Luka’s steady expression didn’t waver a bit. “I do,” he grinned and took the box from Ladybug’s hand. He opened it, lazily grinning at Sass coming out again.  
“It’s nice to see you again,” Sass flew around Luka’s head before setting on his shoulder.  
“You too, little guy,” Luka chuckled.  
“Tomorrow night, will you come to the top of the Eiffel Tower?” Ladybug asked, glancing to the other side of the Seine.  
“Of course.”  
“Thank you. Have a good night, you two.”

\------

Ladybug inhaled. Time to break into her own dorm.   
She knew Allegra and Bridgette would be winding down in the lounge of their dorm. Popping in from the window would be a horrible idea. So she went with the door.  
“Hello,” Ladybug grinned at the two awestruck girls at the door. “May I speak with you?”  
“O-Oh, of course!” Bridgette stuttered, pushing Allegra out of the doorway.  
Ladybug moved inside, toying with her yo-yo. “I’ve noticed you both. Sadly, I only have one Miraculous to give.”  
“Wait, what?” Allegra gasped. Bridgette only silently blinked.  
Ladybug opened her yo-yo and pulled the Fox’s box out. “Allegra Harper, this is the Miraculous of the Fox. You will use it for the greater good. You will hold onto it until your mission is complete. Do you accept?”  
Allegra blinked once. Twice. A few more times. “Me?” She asked in a small voice. Bridgette supported the blonde with an excited gaze.  
“You,” Ladybug nodded. “You aren’t offensive unless necessary, you are clever, and I’m sure you will be a good partner for the mission I have planned.”  
“Oh,” Allegra’s owlish expression. “I- I accept.”  
Ladybug moved forward and pressed the box into Allegra’s hands. The blonde slowly opened the box, as if she were afraid of it. She startled when Trixx came out.  
“Hello!” they gave Allegra a toothy grin. “I’m Trixx, the kwami of Illusion.”  
“Kwami?” Allegra asked.  
“I’m one of the beings that gives the heroes their powers,” Trixx explained.   
“Before I have to leave, will you be able to meet me at the top of the Eiffel Tower tomorrow night?” Ladybug asked.  
“Oh, I should,” Allegra nodded.  
“Good,” Ladybug nodded. 

\------

Ladybug didn’t have to go far, and this time two would be getting their Miraculi together. Ladybug knew Felix would still be in the library and that they also didn’t have a fourth dorm-mate, so she hoped it would go fine.  
“Hello,” Ladybug dipped her head to Claude. “May I come in?”  
“Uh- Sure!” Claude shook himself out of his stupor and stepped aside. “Allan’s in our room right now. Do- do you want me to get him?”  
“If you would,” Ladybug nodded. “I’ll wait here,” she tipped her head to the couch.  
“Alright,” Claude nodded and disappeared down a short hallway.   
Ladybug sat, pulling the Turtle and Horse Miraculi out. Last minute worries plagued her mind. She shooed them away. It was too late to worry now.  
“There is no way Ladybug is- oh hello, Ladybug,” Allan came into view with Claude behind him.   
“Hello,” Ladybug dipped her head. “I’ve noticed you both and have decided you would be a help in a mission I have for you. Claude Martin, Allan Cellario, these are the Turtle Miraculous and the Horse Miraculous. You will use them for the greater good. You will hold onto them until your mission is complete. Do you accept?” She asked.  
“Of course!” Claude almost had stars in his eyes.  
“Claude, you will wield the Miraculous of the Horse,” Ladybug held up Kaalki’s box. Claude took it, but didn’t open it yet. The both of them turned their attention to Allan, who was still in shock.   
“Uh- uh, yes,” Allan stammered.   
“Allan, you will wield the Miraculous of the Turtle,” Ladybug held up Wayzz’s box.  
Allan, almost hesitantly, took the box and opened it with Claude. Twin lights flitted around before Kaalki and Wayzz appeared.   
Claude screamed. Allan looked like his soul left his body.  
“Hello, I am Wayzz, the Kwami of Protection. It is a pleasure to meet you,” Wayzz lazily smiled, a calm presence to ease Allan out of his shock.  
“Are you glorious or famous?” Kaalki asked, not bothering to introduce herself.  
“Uh-” Claude blinked.   
“Kaalki, be nice,” Ladybug scolded.  
“Ugh,” Kaalki rolled her eyes. “I’m Kaalki, the Horse, the Kwami of Teleportation.”  
“Well, you are,” Claude struggled for words before finding one. “Cool!”  
Kaalki, ego effectively stroked, smirked. “Of course I am.”  
“Before I go, may I ask that you meet me at the top of the Eiffel Tower tomorrow night?” Ladybug requested.  
“Oh, sure!” Claude grinned.  
Allan, still too numb to speak, nodded.  
“Thank you,” Ladybug dipped her head to them before going out the door and disappearing into the night.

\-------

Ladybug kicked her feet, sitting on one of the highest beams on the tower, Longg perched on her shoulder. She had spoken to Master Fu earlier, and he had spoken of needing a Guardian. He wanted to train her. She didn’t know what she was going to do with that information. But right now, she needed to focus on her heroes.

“Ladybug,” Viperion called, dropping down beside her on the beam.  
“Viperion,” Ladybug nodded. “There’s a few more I’m waiting on.”  
Queen Bee was next with a very different appearance. She also calmly sat beside Ladybug.   
Claude and Allan, no superhero name to them yet, came next, with Allegra close behind.

“Thank you, for coming,” Ladybug began, standing up to greet the three new heroes. “What will you go by?”  
The seemed to stump the boys, but Allegra was quick to introduce herself. “Melodie.”  
“Hm… Garvoche?” Allan tipped his head.  
“Street rat,” Claude snickered, earning an elbow shove from the Turtle.  
“If you’re so clever, go on and tell your name,” Garvoche quipped.  
“Well, Kaalki would have my head if I chose something dumb… I’ll go with Bayard.”  
“Melodie, Garvoche, Bayard…” Ladybug nodded her head to each of them. “Thank you for coming.” She turned her head back to the two previous Miraculous holders now standing behind her. “And thank you, as well. I know who Hawkmoth is, but for my plan to succeed, I need all of you. And before my plan can begin, I need you well versed in your Miraculous. Thus, your training begins.”


	10. Author's Note

Don't worry, I'm still continuing! Motivation just dropped faster than a rock and I've slowly been building it back up. I've got the next chapter done but I'm waiting to have the thing finished before posting at all. 

Thank you, everyone, for your feedback, you have no idea how much that drove me to finish this. You have no idea how that made me get back to work without feeling like I was being drained of life. 

I love you all and I really hope I can deliver a satisfying ending to you.


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